Alistair Darling claims thousands for 'third home'

Alistair Darling has claimed thousands of pounds in expenses to fund a second
home despite renting out his London flat and having the use of two
grace-and-favour properties, it has emerged.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has been drawn into the row over home allowancesPhoto: REUTERS

By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor

9:30PM BST 05 Apr 2009

The taxpayer is thought to be funding both of the Chancellor's homes - in Downing Street and Edinburgh - while he profits from the rental of his property.

There was last night increasing unease over the expense claims of senior Cabinet ministers after it emerged that Geoff Hoon, the former defence secretary, also benefited from a similar arrangement.

He rented out his London flat while living in a grace-and-favour apartment and claiming thousands of pounds for his Midlands constituency home. Mr Hoon, who is now Transport Secretary, is accused of amassing a property portfolio worth £1.7 million while claiming tens of thousands of pounds in expenses.

Both Mr Darling and Gordon Brown have continued to claim thousands of pounds in second home expenses despite having free use of official properties. The Chancellor has the use of a Downing Street flat and Dorneywood, a stately home in Buckinghamshire. There is no suggestion that either Mr Hoon or Mr Darling have broken Parliamentary rules.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, yesterday pledged to ban ministers with grace-and-favour properties from continuing to claim second-home allowances funded by the taxpayer.

Last night, a spokeswoman for Mr Darling refused to comment on his expense claims. However, it previously emerged that until 2005 he claimed that a flat he shared with other Labour MPs was his "main home". This allowed him to claim about £70,000 in expenses on his Edinburgh home where his wife and children lived.

It was then reported that he switched his formal declaration and told the Parliamentary authorities that the Edinburgh home was his main residence. This allowed him to claim for a London property and it is thought he bought a flat in the capital.

However, after becoming Chancellor in July 2007, Downing Street automatically became his main residence. It is thought that he then began claiming expenses again on the Edinburgh property and rented out the London home. In the 2007-08 financial year, Mr Darling claimed £9,837 in second-home expenses.

Mr Cameron said: "Given the state is effectively providing the minister with a second home, I can see no justification for them continuing to claim a second-home allowance. If elected I will make sure no Conservative minister with a grace-and-favour residence in London would be allowed to make a claim for a second home - including me.

"We have to sort this out now. No one will listen to politicians about anything if the impression is that they are living high on the hog off the back of taxpayers."

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: ``It is clearly barmy for ministers to indulge in a form of double counting that enables them to enjoy two homes at the taxpayer's expense.

``To say this is within the rules will only serve to convince the public that the rules are broken and need to be fixed as soon as possible.

Susie Squire of the Taxpayers' Alliance added: "Alistair Darling has some serious questions to answer about his exploitation of the parliamentary allowances system. It's very concerning that the man who is in charge of our money thinks it is appropriate to make a fast buck from the taxpayer. His behaviour is totally unacceptable."

The Prime Minister is pushing to scrap the system which allows MPs to claim all the expenses associated with a second home and replace it with a fixed overnight allowance. The Committee on Standards in Public Life is about to begin an inquiry into the current expenses system.

However, speaking in Prague yesterday, Mr Brown said that other matters were concerning him.

"I think over the last few days the world has made sufficient advances in how we can deal with the economy, how we can deal with terrorism, how we can deal with terrorism, how we can deal with security and these are the issues I am concentrating on.

``All these other issues are being dealt with by the Committee on Standards in Public Life."

The remarks surprised some MPs as the issue is thought by the public to be hugely-damaging for politicians.

Mr Hoon has denied any wrongdoing and said that his arrangements were approved by the Parliamentary authorities. He moved out of his grace-and-favour apartment in 2006.